Our recent discussion of Marxism and the general analysis of capitalism have really opened my eyes to some of the less talked about and negative aspects of capitalism. While I do agree with the majority of Marx's analysis of modern society, it seems that some of his logical progressions can not quite go forward in our current state of affairs. However, his view of the violent capitalist cycle hit pretty close to home. I had always seen my dad come in after work, constantly tired from working his ass off in a constant battle to sell the most ads, develop the newest gimmick to get the most page views, or cut the unneeded workers all in the strive to make his newspaper the most profitable possible. No matter how well the paper was doing, he would always push for more profit. Marx's analysis of our money driven economy seems to be incredibly accurate. In our modern world, everything seems to boil down to how to make the most profit, how to get the biggest market share or how to get ahead of the curve. Until now I never saw the need to put out this much effort to revise an already profitable newspaper, but without constant upgrading and growth a company simply can't exist for long in today's market.
All this said and done, Marx did seem to hit the nail right on the head in his analysis but his ideas regarding revision seem a little idealistic. To do anything but capitalism in today's society would require an incredible overhaul of both government and social hierarchy. This is where the communist association seems to taint his ideas, as it is almost impossible to think of governmental overhaul and Marxism without thinking of the U.S.S.R. 's attempts on the subject. While the goal might be good in attempting to move our economy in a C-M-C style, doing so would be incredibly difficult without power somehow sliding into the wrong hands. No matter how corrupt capitalism seems to be at times, the alternative could land us in a lot more trouble. As negative as the constant dog eat dog profit search may seem, it does provide a clear goal, and goals tend to make my life easier. I could live with a constant profit search as my life goal, it is better than a goal of survival.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I agree that it is a sad state of affairs when there is so much emphasis on a profit. There is not real incentive to do the right/moral thing as the "invisible hand" of the market has no conscience of its own. People ultimately make decisions and people are rewarded for decisions that only lead to more profit for the company, not to a better lifestyle for people in general. However, how does one structure an economy so that this type of goal is rewarded? I agree that at least capitalism sets a clear goal. Like so many choices in life it is not always a choice for the best but the least of the evils available. While Marx's ideas have been corrupted by rulers like Stalin and Lenin, it seems that these at least serve as an example of how difficult his criticisms of capitalist society are to rectify. While unfortunate in most respects, there are examples of capitalist companies working for the good of people and of profit. It seems to me not so much of a matter of changing the system as changing the mindset. Ben and Jerry (yeah the ice cream guys) came to Vanderbilt last year to speak on responsible capitalism and innovations they have made in their company while still making a profit. They did things like produce rainforest crunch (a popular flavor) to promote more responsible uses of rainforests and their preservation. So while capitalism currently does not work, at least there are examples out there of how it could. Thus far, many of Marx's ideas have no basis in reality in terms of implementing as they are often so theorectical.
Post a Comment